Crossfitting, Paleoing, and Living in the 918

What is better than 10 adults building an igloo? That’s right, nothing.

Getting taller now…making sure the walls will support the roof!

All done! Our igloo was warm and even equipped with delicious smelling candles!

Whoa, being snowed in for seven days has been….well, interesting. It is amazing how much my motivation went out the window when you don’t have a car and you can’t leave your house without wadding through 14 inches of snow! And don’t forget people, we live in OKLAHOMA. This much snow is a record for our state. Usually we are lucky if we get 3-4 inches in one sitting here in T-Town, but 14? Sheesh. They were actually calling it The Snowcalypse of 2011! Cars were littered all over the street, buses were stuck blocking entire intersections and most grocery store shelves were completely picked clean.

Fortunately, we were able to get out one day (when the temp was above negative 6 degrees) and have a little fun. As you can see by the 10 foot tall igloo in the picture above…we had a blast. Which brings me to the theme of today. Even when the weather isn’t perfect, or cooperating at all, you are stuck inside due to a blizzard, or any other natural disaster that could be messing up your days there are always ways to stay active and keep your body going.

A few ideas to keep you active in the next Snowcalypse you encounter:

1. Shovel your driveway, and the neighbors (if they deserve it). If you have a weight vest, even better! Strap that baby on and see how fast you can get it done.

2. Have a massive snow ball fight. It could be with your kids, neighbors, friends, whatever. Nothing gets your heart beating more than running from or chasing someone with an arsenal of snowballs. Talk about a good time.

3. Attempt some new recipes you wouldn’t have time for regularly. I found myself stuck inside with a lot of extra time on my hands, what better way to spend the day then trying that new Paleo Pumpkin Cranberry recipe I have been eyeing (pictures/post to come)

4. Do a few WODs in your house. Not all workouts need weights, you can do a great workout with nothing but your body. Try: 10 rounds – 10 burpees (click here to see how a burpee is done) and 20 sit-ups. Time yourself and see how fast you can get it done.

5. Rocky it up! Pile on the clothes and try for a neighborhood 5K. (make sure you have some nice sweat pants for your attire to really get you in the mood.

So there you have it. 5 fun ways to stay active when the weather tries to keep you in. Check back soon because I will be posting my the results of my Snowy Paleo Muffins!

I am very happy to announce a new blog that I am excited and honored to be a part of: Hot Dish Health! A few of the ladies past and present that were/are a part of Crossfit Jenks decided to get together and write about something we are constantly talk about: staying and eating healthy. We found ourselves talking about food and nutrition 24/7. Every time we saw each other we would bring up new things we learned, recipes we tried, or lament about what we “accidentally” ate that weekend. We found that most of us were in a struggling battle to find balance between eating healthy and becoming obsessed.

Finally one day our Hot Dish Nicole decided that if we were all feeling the same way about food, how many other people in the world were having the same daily struggle? Enter: Hot Dish Health, a forum to talk about those struggles, get feedback from loyal readers like you and a place to start the conversation that no one wants to have but we all obsess over. So I hope you can find some useful information in both of these blogs, Healthy Living in the 918 and Hot Dish Health. Hopefully one post or another will speak to you, give you inspiration or just a much-needed laugh.

We’ve all heard people talk about it. Whispers among the elite, touching around the subject in hushed voices, as if keeping the secret only among the chosen. It is almost as if it is this elusive unicorn, a beautiful beast which presents itself only rarely when you least expect it. But when a person finally spots one, the experience is euphoric, unearthly and life changing. You feel on top of the world and as if something special happened to you and you want the whole world to know about your experience.

But what if you are the one who hasn’t ever seen this symbol of all things glorious? It kind of sucks, doesn’t it? You slog though your experiences waiting for it, and no matter what you do, it doesn’t come. That is exactly how I felt about this elusive thing called, “runner’s high” . Before and during the early stages of Crossfit I ran, a lot. I wasn’t a high mileage runner by any means, but I put my fair share under my feet, and even trained and completed a half marathon. Yes, I know, everyone who has run a marathon or 30 are rolling their eyes at my novice status, and that’s fine with me. I was a dancer my entire life and running was something we just didn’t do, so the fact that I even had a propensity to run in the slightest was more than I could have ever hoped for (and besides, it’s about your overall fitness, not everyone else’s right?) I digress.

So a lot of runs and a half marathon later I still hadn’t seen the unicorn. I ran, and most of the time it hurt. My mind was in my feet and I couldn’t get out of it. I thought about every grueling step, every creek, every groan and most times it ended with that last mile counting every step until it was over. Each time brought new gains, and new pains and I just couldn’t find that moment when your mind goes blank, everything gets quiet and you just run.

Now, fast forward a year and about 300 hundred WODs later and I have finally found my unicorn. The reason for this post is not to get geeked out on what a “runner’s high” is (although if you want the scientific facts about the endorphins in your body releasing when your neurotransmitters fire out pain past your threshold then click HERE.) But I just want to get into the mental state of that runner’s high, or as I like to call it Workout High. See, I could run 8 miles a day and not feel once ounce of euphoria, but give me one, really intense WOD, long or short, metcon or oly lifts, whatever, and I swear I walk away flying high on those beautiful workout clouds.

Which brings me to the reason for this post. We are about half way through the month when resolutions start getting harder to keep, excuses and busy lives start to give you reasons why you can’t keep those goals. Now is the time to dig deeper and find your unicorn. Dig deeper, push yourself harder in your workout and give yourself the ability and chance to feel that amazing greatness that comes when you push past that wall or make gains you never thought possible. My unicorn comes to me when I finish a WOD. Yours might be after a really hard spin class, a long swim or bike ride. Whatever it is, find it and I promise that feeling will get you to keep your resolutions. That’s the moment that will help you keep your goals and the drive to constantly come back for more.

Now you know the secret, you are part of that elite circle. What are you waiting for 3…2…1… Go!

The New Year is here and like every year, each and every tweet and blog post asks, “What are your New Year’s resolutions?” When confronted with this question on the screen I usually turn and hide. I don’t even want to think of resolutions because typically resolutions are the exact things that you DON’T keep in the New Year. Sorry to be Pessimistic Patsy but statistically most people do not keep their resolutions past week 2, and even less after a month.

So what are we to do? Say screw it all to any type of resolution that may help us be better, stronger, healthier, smarter in 2011? No, absolutely not. But when you are making your resolutions think really hard before you set them out. And try to remember these three things:

1. Don’t give yourself too much to do in 2011. Try to focus on one or two resolutions that are manageable and that you could attain at any time in the year, not just the first. There are many grandiose ideas I have for 2011. I want to be fluent in Spanish, I want to do a 100 m handstand walk, I want to eat clean 100% of the time. I want to quilt. Sheesh, I have a lot to do and when I start to look at this long list of resolutions or what I call “wants” for 2011 I start to have a panic attack. How the hell can I possibly attain all of these things starting January 1st. So what did I do? I took a big step back and went over my list, forcing myself to pick one thing I can commit to, only one. Yes, I would love to promise myself that I will do everything on this list and if I can do that, great for me. In all actuality, the new year will hit and I will be so busy with everything else that most of this stuff won’t ever get wings to get off the ground. So my one New Year’s Resolution: Paleo. That’s it.

2. Grab your friends and get going together. Many people say they can hold themselves accountable, and maybe they can. I myself find that I am a lot more accountable when others are relying on me to follow through. So what better way to start the new year than finding a few friends that want to share your goal. This could be eating healthy, working out more, learning spanish, training your dogs, whatever! Just grab some friends and keep each other accountable. Plus, usually this stuff is a lot more fun when you aren’t doing it alone!

3. Don’t hate yourself if you fall back a few steps. January 1st is arbitrary. Yes, it is the beginning of a new year, and a great platform to start new things, but who decided that this is the only day of the year when you can start a program to make yourself better? Exactly, no one. Janaury 10th is just as great of a day as January 1st, and February 20th is good too. So if you decide January 1st holds too much pressure to get your butt into gear then give yourself a week to get started. The main idea is that you start, and if you fall off the wagon just make sure you brush yourself off and get back on, immediately. Don’t focus on the fall focus on the future goal and most of all make sure you are having fun.

Happy New Year everyone! 2010 was a great year, here’s to making 2011 even better!

Ok, so as promised I am reporting back on what I have found on the veggie front. Because it has only been a day and I am not superwoman, I haven’t tried any of these great veggie ideas, but I didn’t want to leave you hanging so I thought I would post a few and then update as I make each of these dishes.

Disclaimer: these are by no means my original dishes or ideas. I will post a link to each place I have gotten these from. Being new to this whole Paleo deal hasn’t really led me to spontaneously create Paleo dishes from scratch so I succumb to random blog/recipe stalking.

Side Note: I am altering the recipe a bit and adding some protein. I just so happened to open my fridge this morning to make my lunch (procrastinator people, remember?) and realized I had nothing to make for lunch and no protein to use. Frantically I looked around my kitchen to see what I could whip up or cook quickly and I realized that nothing would suffice considering I had to be at work five minutes ago…and it takes me like 15 minutes to drive there…yikes! Thankfully, due to my blog stalking last night I found this recipe of Guacomatoes and thought that I would be perfect for me. Easy, quick and required only a few key ingredients. What could be better? So, as I sit at my desk I will be whipping up the mix of avocado and tuna, hollow out the tomatoes and stuff in the mixture. Cross your fingers for me.

I will also be working on a cucumber and tomato salad. Since it is the season for both of these ingredients, I am happy that I will be able to acquire fresh, straight from the garden ingredients. I, unfortunately, do not have a garden of my own, so I will be taking advantage of all of the wonderful vendors at the Cherry Street Farmers Market this Saturday. YUMMY.

To say I need more veggies in my diet is an understatement. I am having a really hard time with this part of the whole deal. Which is ridiculous considering there are so many great veggies out there to eat. I am just at a loss on how to incorporate them not only in my meals but also as snacks. I have done the carrot route, munching on them throughout the day and before Paleo, eating them with delicious hummus…oh man I miss hummus. But now I have to admit I am a little burnt out on carrots and they just aren’t that great plain. So I am needing some new veggie snacks in my day.

I did however cook up this beautiful array of squash and zucchini last night for dinner, sauteing it with a little olive oil, garlic and pepper. Man was it good. Matched with a little baked chicken breast, it served as a satisfying meal that kept me pretty full the rest of the night.

Besides this mixture and the broccoli and cauliflower that I have been consuming at rapid levels, I am stagnate on my veggie intake. Therefore I am on the search for some good veggie ideas/recipes which hopefully will kickstart my inspiration and love of everything vegetable like. I will be reporting back shortly.

breakfast- eggs, turkey lunch meat -2 oz, 1/2 avocado, 4 strawberries

lunch- chicken breast and zucchini/squash from last night, apple with cashew butter

About Me!

Christina is a Saint Louis native who received a B.A. from the University of Tulsa and stayed in Tulsa after graduation. Christina was a dancer for 20 years, focusing on all facets of dance including jazz, tap, ballet and competitive pom. She went on to dance at the University of Tulsa and coached/choreographed for various middle schools and high schools in the Tulsa area. Her passion for keeping an active lifestyle continued after college when she joined a gym and began running. She completed her first half marathon in November of 2009 and has run in various 5-10k races in Tulsa. Christina is dedicated to fitness and fell in love with Crossfit in September 2008. The physical and mental strength she has gained since starting Crossfit keeps her wanting more day after day. She has her Crossfit Level 1 Certification and hopes to teach people the benefits and rewards of exercise and healthy eating.